Upper Saucon plans student mixer

Upper Saucon Township officials are hoping frazzled Center Valley residents and their young collegiate neighbors can lay the groundwork for better relations over snacks.

The township and DeSales University officials have set up a social gathering Oct. 18 to introduce longtime residents of the neighborhood at Station Avenue and New Street to the mostly theater students who are renting in their midst.

Residents of the neighborhood have complained of a growing number of student tenants over the last decade in an area DeSales students call "The Street," and of increased noise, parking problems and cars speeding up and down the residential streets.

Township police and zoning officials are doing what they can to keep the peace, but a lasting solution will only come from better communication among neighbors, said Supervisor Chairman Miro Gutzmirtl.

"We have tried to address the issues, but there is a need to come together," Gutzmirtl said. "I'm really hoping they come and meet the kids."

Gutzmirtl said he's gotten comments from some residents that they don't think the meeting will help and may not attend, but he said he hopes they come out and give it a chance.

He said he and township manager Tom Beil plan on being there.

Station Avenue resident Lori Jones said a meeting can't hurt.

"I think it may be worth it," said Jones, who said she continues to see plenty of drivers speeding up and down her streets. "I guess anything is worth a try."

She said she was happy to see the township has set up a traffic metering system, as promised, to get a handle on the problem.

Many of the students living on The Street are new to the neighborhood and say they don't know any of the neighbors, said DeSales Vice President for Student Life Jerry Joyce.

"The majority of the students are new this year. I figured this would be a great opportunity to get the lines of communication open," Joyce said. "Sometimes people don't even realize some of the things they are doing may have an impact on people living close by."

One of them, sophomore Max Frauel, said a meeting will help as long as people go in with an open mind.

"I think it's a good idea," Frauel said. "I don't think there has been any communication between the long-term residents and the renters."

Frauel said he and his three roommates did get a visit one night from police when they were playing the video game Rock Band and a neighbor filed a noise complaint.

The meeting, over refreshments, is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m. on the DeSales campus.

Many of the properties in the area are owned by Arden Link, owner of Link Beverages in Coopersburg, who bought them in the 1980s. They have been given names such as "The Chapel," "The Shack" and "The Penthouse."

Where it can, the township has enforced rules that limit the number of renters per housing unit to two, Beil said.

He said the township is pursuing a zoning enforcement action against a property at 3623 Station Ave., owned by Joshua Koopman of Cummaquid, Miss., according to county property records, for having too many renters.

Koopman was also sent a warning letter in 2006, saying that "credible complainers" had reported he was allowing more than two renters per unit. Koopman could not be reached for comment.